Episode VII: The Curse of the Force Forsaken
by Aelimir
Summary: Formerly: Episode VII: Curse of the Black Pearl. Chapter One is revised. I came up with some good ideas so I will continue. Ever wonder what POTC would be like, Star Wars style? I have attempted to delve into the mind of George Lucas to find out!
1. Engine Trouble

Note: This story will never be completed, but I'm keeping it posted for sentimental reasons. :)

* * *

Episode VII: Curse of the Force Forsaken

Formerly: Episode VII: Curse of the Black Pearl. Chapter One is revised. I came up with some good ideas so I will continue. Ever wonder what POTC would be like, Star Wars style? I have attempted to delve into the mind of George Lucas to find out! Reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

A/N: Sorry about the delay! Thank you to all my reviewers! I would not have continued without them :)

Chapter 1: Engine Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I've never read the SW books, just have seen the movies. So I'm going by what I know from the movies. Also, I'm starting out with a prequel of sorts before jumping eight years ahead. I think I'll drop the idea of the Lucas's style opening with the explanation. This is several, if not hundreds, of years after Luke Skywalker, by the way.

A man with black hair and kohl-lined eyes (guess who!) could feel the Force warning him of trouble. Some sort of trouble with the ship, it seemed. *This is just bloody wonderful.* He was on his way back to the Jedi Council to report the sucess of his latest mission. He couldn't wait to reach his destination. Lately, the Council seemed to be catching on to his illegal *ahem* pirating activities. Once he reported to them, their confidence in him would be restored.

"Barbossa!" The man called. "Are your senses warning you of anything?"

Barbossa walked up, his Jedi robe flowing. "No, master," he said sarcastically.

"I feel something," Jack insisted. "Check the engine."

"Aye, aye, captain." Barbossa grumbled under his breath. He was getting tired of his probation. He had been caught stealing, so the Jedi Council had put him under close watch by his former padawan, Jack. Once he was on his own, he'd commandeer his own ship. Then, he'd be able to secretly pull off more extravagant pirating adventures than he had been doing secretly. He was tired of the Jedi order. Now, he just had to wait until the right moment to leave it. He had to get rid of Jack somehow. But Jack was a hard nut to crush.

Yes, Barbossa, Jack, and the crew were pirates. They'd started out as dedicated Jedi, but as the years passed, they met more and more pirates and started to do a little theiving on their own. They're tried to keep it secret, but weren't always successful. In fact, Jack would have been on the Council if it weren't for the countraversial reports that he turned pirate.

Barbossa reached the engine compartment. The Force guided him over to a set of wires. (sorry, I don't know anything about engines!) Barbossa's eyes widened. They looked almost busted. If those broke, they would be off spinning in space without hope of controlling the spacecraft.

"Master!" Barbossa yelled, striding back to where Jack was.

Jack peered at him from underneath his hood. "The hyperecter* is almost busted. We'll have to land then."

Barbossa glared at Jack. "How come you sent me to check it out when you already knew what was wrong?!"

"I didn't know until I saw your face," explained Jack. "You should really not broadcast these things through the Force. Control, control."

"Yes, master," replied Barbossa, rolling his eyes. He checked the computer. "How about we land on, say, De Muerta? It's close, and we could get supplies."

"De Muerta?" Jack mumbled thoughfully. "But isn't the planet only legendary?"

"Aye, master. But it's right here, on the screen. Only a couple minutes away."

Jack reached out for the planet through the Force. He didn't like the feedback he got at all. "I feel a disturbance in the force. Is there anywhere else?"

Suddenly the ship began shaking. The hyperecter was about to break completely. Jack made a split second decision. Landing on De Muerta would be better than spinning endlessly through space. Wouldn't it?

*I made up the hyperecter. It's basically a direction controller.

A/N : Thanks to all who reviewed my story before the revision! From now on I'll try to reply personally to any reviews I get. (after chapter 3)


	2. De Muerta

Chapter 2: De Muerta  
  
Jack landed just outside a town. As he exited the ship, he looked it over proudly. The Black Pearl was its name, and black it was. It was one of the few posessions he was allowed to keep as a Jedi, and he treasured it highly.  
  
As he and Barbossa walked the street, his feeling of unease mounted. The place was shrouded in an unnatural fog and seemed almost deserted. Ever since he landed, he could feel his sense of Force being distorted and diminished. *I want to get off this Force Forsaken rock as soon as possible!* Glancing quickly to the right, his eyes caught a sign: Ship Parts Sold Here.  
  
Jack pushed open the door to the shop. A man looked up, and asked gruffly, "What do y'want?"  
  
"We come to buy a hyperecter. Do you have one?" Jack queried.  
  
"Aye. That be 900 Aztac credits."  
  
"Will you accept Galactic credits?" Jack shifted his weight.  
  
"Aztac credits ONLY."  
  
"Galatic credits will do fine," Barbossa said, trying a Jedi Mind Trick.  
  
The man stared at them blankly. "Are ye or are ye not goin' to buy the bloody hyperecter? Where do ye come from anyway, I haven't seen ye before."  
  
Jack sent a warning look to Barbossa. Barbossa understood it to mean: 'If I thought a mind trick was necessary, I would have used it. You must follow MY lead, probationed master.'  
  
Jack smiled tightly at the man. "We'll be back."  
  
The two strode back to the Black Pearl. They both knew they didn't have any "Aztac" credits. As they entered the ship, Jack yelled, "Turner! Get the holo ready for a transmission to Corosaunt!" [sorry for gross misspelling! Can someone tell me the correct spelling?]  
  
Turner, or "Bootstrap" Bill pushed several buttons, willing the machine to work. But it didn't. Odd, very odd. It had operated flawlessly earlier this afternoon. He glanced out the window. This unnatural fog was unnerving him. Maybe it had something to do with the lack of transmission with Corosaunt. Or maybe it didn't work because this De Muerta place wasn't on any map. Or maybe it was the rumored strange Force disturbances on this planet. Bootstrap didn't like this place at all.  
  
"The transmission doesn't work, eh?" mused Jack aloud, even before he entered the room. Bill looked at him with admiration as he appeared in the doorway. Jack's Force powers never ceased to amaze him, even after all these years. "I'm having a thought here. How about I take a look around the village and see what I can find out." Jack turned and exited the room.  
  
Jack wandered around aimlessly. His head began to ache with all the impossibilites. No ship, no money, no transmission. Finally he spied a man ambling along the street. "Excuse me," Jack said. "My name's Jack."  
  
"I'm Cortez."  
  
"Pleased to meet you Cortez. Would you know how to earn several hundred Aztac credits?"  
  
The Cortez's eye glinted. Jack tried to keep calm as he got odd vibes from him. "I don't know about earning," he said slowly, darkly. "How about finding?"  
  
"Please continue," Jack urged, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"You mean you haven't heard about the treasure of De Muerta? You will now," Cortez replied. Jack followed Cortez, his curiousity mounting. The Force was telling him to pay very careful attention.  
  
"My ancester, who was named Palpatine, [A/N not direct of course - think distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed :)] was a greedy man. He used the Force to put a curse upon this treasure, so that if anyone other than he removed the gold from his cave, the Force would completely forsake that person, until he returned it and repaid by blood."  
  
"If that be true," Jack protested, "Then that person would die. Without the Force, there could be no life."  
  
"Aye, that be true...unless you were cursed. See, he wanted to have his gold returned, if it was stolen. So they would be not among the living, yet not dead either. A mere skeleton would he be, unless he returned and paid for the gold with blood."  
  
Jack could tell that the man was telling the truth. Or was he? The Force seemed to be fading more and more. He could feel something elusive about this man. But the certainty that Jack usually possessed disappeared the moment he had landed on his force-forsaken planet. "A lovely story indeed sir. Thank you. May I ask, though, where this gold is?" *I don't want to be going anywhere near that cave! I can't be sure it's true, but it would be too risky to mess with.*  
  
"It's on an island that cannot be found - except by those who already know where it is. And I," he said slowly, "know where it is."  
  
Jack listened to the description, before hurrying back to the ship. He would meditate before making another move.  
  
Barbossa could see that Jack had something on his mind as Jack entered the ship. And he had a mind to find out exactly what it was. 


	3. The Choices of Master Barbossa

Chapter 3: The Choices of Master Barbossa  
  
A/N: This will be my last chapter of the prequel part. Then I'll pick up where POTC starts. :)  
  
Barbossa followed Jack to his cabin. He could sense that Jack was thinking deeply about something. "Master, what be wrong? Can you tell your long-time companion?"  
  
Jack shook his head. He didn't feel that Barbossa needed to know about the treasure. And right now, Jack needed to concentrate.  
  
"What about the Code, Captain? Not telling me might be true to Jedi Code but what about Pirate Code? According to Pirate Code everyone gets an equal share. I demand my share."  
  
Jack turned to face Barbossa, defeated. Briefly, he told him about the treasure of Isla De Muerta. But he didn't mention how to lift the curse, since he didn't think Barbossa would disobey him. He stressed it impossibility of using the treasure because they would lose their Force powers by doing so.  
  
Barbossa listened keenly, his thoughts churning. *How do we know Cortez is telling the truth? How else are we going to get off this bloody planet? We need the treasure! Jack seems pretty firm that we won't be going after it, though.*  
  
Then dawned on Barbossa the formings of a plan. The chance to have his own ship free from Jack, and get rich at the same time was now in his grasp. All he had to do was to figure out how to defeat his master. "Thank you for following the Code, my Captain. Now I be going to be getting some rest."  
  
Jack nodded, rather startled by the vibes he was getting from Barbossa. *No, Barbossa might be rebellious sometimes, but he'd never actually mutiny, right? Nah.* Jack decided to concentrate on his currect predicament. He was the Captain, and it was his responsibility.  
  
Barbossa didn't sleep much that night, however. He was too busy planning and sharing it with the rest of the crew. Convincing Bootstrap had been the hardest. Bootstrap reluctantly agreed after arguing for several minutes. He didn't want to hang out at De Muerta any longer.  
  
As Jack meditated, he could see himself being left on a lonely planet. He could see Bootstrap Bill spinning endlessly in space. Then he saw a young girl with a medallion. None of it made sense, yet he could feel Barbossa being behind it all. That he couldn't believe. They'd been friends for years. Like father and son! And the crew were very loyal. *What is going on?*  
  
The next morning, the crew mutinied. Jack, trapped in his cabin, gaped in horror as he realized that Barbossa was indeed doing what the Force had warned him. Later, Barbossa came back with the treasure and the hyperecter. He found a tiny, obscure island with no other life forms (except plants). There, he marooned Jack.  
  
Jack watched despondently as his ship, his former master, and his crew left without him. His lightsaber had been wrestled away from him, but was given a blaster with a single shot. *I wish they'd left a big shot of rum as well*  
  
TBC 


End file.
